Conn. Gen. Stat. § 31-23 (2026)

(a) No minor under sixteen years of age shall be employed or permitted to work in any manufacturing, mechanical, mercantile or theatrical industry, restaurant or public dining room, or in any bowling alley, shoe-shining establishment or barber shop, provided the Labor Commissioner may authorize such employment of any minor between the ages of fourteen and sixteen who is enrolled in (1) a public school in a work-study program as defined and approved by the Commissioner of Education and the Labor Commissioner or in a program established pursuant to section 10-20a, or (2) a summer work-recreation program sponsored by a town, city or borough or by a human resources development agency which has been approved by the Labor Commissioner, or both, and provided the prohibitions of this section shall not apply to any minor over the age of fourteen who is under vocational probation pursuant to an order of the Superior Court as provided in section 46b-140 or to any minor over the age of fourteen who has been placed on vocational parole by the Commissioner of Children and Families.

(b) (1) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a) of this section, a minor who has reached the age of fourteen may be employed or permitted to work as a caddie or in a pro shop at any municipal or private golf course, and a minor who has reached the age of fifteen may be employed or permitted to work as a staff member at a youth camp, as defined in section 19a-420, as a lifeguard or in any mercantile establishment as a bagger, cashier or stock clerk, provided such employment is (A) limited to periods of school vacation during which school is not in session for five consecutive days or more except that such minor employed in a retail food store may work on any Saturday during the year; (B) for not more than forty hours in any week; (C) for not more than eight hours in any day; and (D) between the hours of seven o'clock in the morning and seven o'clock in the evening, except that from July first to the first Monday in September in any year, any such minor may be employed until nine o'clock in the evening. Any minor who has reached the age of fifteen and is employed or works as a staff member at a youth camp or as a lifeguard shall be supervised by a person of at least eighteen years of age.

(2) (A) Each person who employs a fourteen-year-old minor as a caddie or in a pro shop at any municipal or private golf course pursuant to this section shall obtain a certificate stating that such minor is fourteen years of age or older, as provided in section 10-193, and (B) each person who employs a fifteen-year-old minor as a staff member at a youth camp, as a lifeguard or in any mercantile establishment pursuant to this subsection shall obtain a certificate stating that such minor is fifteen years of age or older, as provided in section 10-193, except that no such certificate shall be required for such minor employed by a municipality as a staff member at a youth camp or as a lifeguard. Such certificate shall be kept on file at the place of employment and shall be available at all times during business hours to the inspectors of the Labor Department.

(3) The Labor Commissioner may adopt regulations, in accordance with the provisions of chapter 54, as the commissioner deems necessary to implement the provisions of this subsection.

(c) No minor under the age of eighteen years shall be employed or permitted to work in any occupation which has been or shall be pronounced hazardous to health by the Department of Public Health or pronounced hazardous in other respects by the Labor Department. This section shall not apply to (1) the employment or enrollment of minors sixteen years of age and over as registered apprentices or registered preapprentices in a bona fide registered apprenticeship program or registered preapprenticeship program in manufacturing or mechanical establishments, technical education and career schools or public schools, (2) the employment of such minors who have graduated from a public or private secondary or technical education and career school in any manufacturing or mechanical establishment, (3) the employment of such minors who are participating in a manufacturing or mechanical internship, registered apprenticeship or registered preapprenticeship in any manufacturing or mechanical establishment, or (4) the enrollment of such minors in a cooperative work-study program approved by the Commissioner of Education and the Labor Commissioner or in a program established pursuant to section 10-20a. No provision of this section shall apply to agricultural employment, domestic service, street trades or the distribution of newspapers. For purposes of this subsection, (A) “internship” means supervised practical training of a high school student or recent high school graduate that is comprised of curriculum and workplace standards approved by the Department of Education and the Labor Department, (B) “cooperative work-study program” means a program of vocational education, approved by the Commissioner of Education and the Labor Commissioner, for persons who, through a cooperative arrangement between the school and employers, receive instruction, including required academic courses and related vocational instruction by alternation of study in school with a job in any occupational field, provided these two experiences are planned and supervised by the school and employers so that each contributes to the student's education and to his employability. Work periods and school attendance may be on alternate half days, full days, weeks or other periods of time in fulfilling the cooperative work-study program, (C) “apprentice” means a person (i) employed under a written agreement to work at and learn a specific trade, and (ii) registered with the Labor Department, and (D) “preapprentice” means a person, student or minor (i) employed under a written agreement with an apprenticeship sponsor for a term of training and employment not exceeding two thousand hours or twenty-four months in duration, and (ii) registered with the Labor Department.

(d) Each person who employs a minor under the age of eighteen years shall obtain a certificate stating the age of such minor as provided in section 10-193. Such certificates shall be kept on file at the place of employment and shall be available at all times during business hours to the inspectors of the Labor Department.

(1949 Rev., S. 7352; February, 1965, P.A. 186, S. 1; 1969, P.A. 203, S. 1; 498, S. 2; P.A. 73-49, S. 2, 3; P.A. 75-16; 75-282; P.A. 76-436, S. 617, 681; P.A. 77-614, S. 323, 610; P.A. 86-333, S. 26, 32; P.A. 87-195, S. 1; P.A. 88-360, S. 52, 53, 63; May Sp. Sess. P.A. 92-16, S. 85, 89; P.A. 93-91, S. 1, 2; 93-381, S. 9, 39; P.A. 94-116, S. 27, 28; P.A. 95-257, S. 12, 21, 58; P.A. 97-38; 97-263, S. 10; P.A. 00-144, S. 3; P.A. 02-44, S. 1; P.A. 06-139, S. 4, 8; P.A. 08-108, S. 1; P.A. 12-116, S. 87; 12-154, S. 1; P.A. 13-261, S. 7; P.A. 17-237, S. 105; P.A. 18-126, S. 8; P.A. 23-183, S. 1.)

History: 1965 act authorized employment of minor between 14 and 16 years old who is enrolled in school in a work-study program in Subsec. (a); 1969 acts authorized employment of minors between 14 and 16 in summer work-recreation programs and specified that prohibitions of section do not apply to minors over 14 years old who are under vocational probation by order of juvenile court in Subsec. (a); P.A. 73-49 specified that provisions do not apply to minors over 14 years old who are placed on vocational probation by children and youth services commissioner in Subsec. (a); P.A. 75-16 defined “cooperative work-study program” in Subsec. (b) and specified that provisions do not apply to minors enrolled in such programs approved by state board of education and labor commissioner; P.A. 75-282 specified in Subsec. (b) that provisions do not apply to minors who have graduated from secondary or vocational schools who are employed in a manufacturing or mechanical establishment; P.A. 76-436 replaced juvenile court with superior court in Subsec. (a), effective July 1, 1978; P.A. 77-614 replaced department of health with department of health services, effective January 1, 1979; P.A. 86-333 deleted reference to repealed Sec. 10-189 in Subsec. (c); P.A. 87-195 inserted new Subsec. (b) permitting minors who are 15 years of age to work in any mercantile establishment as baggers, cashiers or stock clerks until September 30, 1992, with certain restrictions on the hours of work and relettered prior Subsecs. (b) to (d), inclusive, accordingly; P.A. 88-360 in Subsec. (b)(2) provided that the certificate be obtained pursuant to Sec. 10-193, i.e., from the superintendent of schools, rather than from the state board of education and in Subsec. (d) deleted the provision specifying that the certificate be obtained from the state board of education; May Sp. Sess. P.A. 92-16 amended Subsec. (b) by limiting employment of minors 15 years of age to school vacations of five consecutive days or longer and deleting provision limiting employment of such minors to not more than two consecutive days without a day off; P.A. 93-91 substituted commissioner and department of children and families for commissioner and department of children and youth services, effective July 1, 1993; P.A. 93-381 replaced department of health services with department of public health and addiction services, effective July 1, 1993; P.A. 94-116 replaced references to “state board” with “commissioner” and added a provision allowing minors to participate in the Connecticut career certificate program under Sec. 10-20a, effective July 1, 1994; P.A. 95-257 replaced Commissioner and Department of Public Health and Addiction Services with Commissioner and Department of Public Health, effective July 1, 1995; P.A. 97-38 amended Subsec. (b) to extend period a minor may work in any mercantile establishment to September 30, 2002; P.A. 97-263 amended Subsec. (e) to increase amount of fine from $100 to $200; P.A. 00-144 amended Subsec. (b) by adding provision permitting minor employed in a retail food store to work on any Saturday; P.A. 02-44 amended Subsec. (b) to extend period during which a minor may work in a mercantile establishment to September 30, 2007, and make technical changes; P.A. 06-139 amended Subsec. (b)(1) to permit employment of 14-year-old minor as caddie or in pro shop at municipal or private golf course, and added new Subsec. (b)(2)(A) requiring employer of 14-year-old minor as caddie or in pro shop to obtain certificate stating age of minor, designating existing provisions as Subpara. (B), effective June 6, 2006, and made a technical change in Subsec. (a) and deleted former Subsec. (e) re penalty for violation of section, effective January 1, 2007; P.A. 08-108 amended Subsec. (b)(1) by deleting “from September 20, 2002, to September 30, 2007, inclusive” and replacing “shall be” with “is”, effective June 2, 2008; pursuant to P.A. 12-116, “vocational schools” and “vocational school” were changed editorially by the Revisors to “technical high schools” and “technical high school”, respectively, in Subsec. (c), effective July 1, 2012; P.A. 12-154 amended Subsec. (c) by permitting employment of a minor participating in a manufacturing or mechanical internship in any manufacturing or mechanical establishment, adding definition of “internship” and making technical changes, effective July 1, 2012; P.A. 13-261 amended Subsec. (c) to make a technical change, effective July 11, 2013; P.A. 17-237 amended Subsec. (c) by replacing “technical high schools” with “technical education and career schools” in Subdiv. (1) and replacing “technical high school” with “technical education and career school” in Subdiv. (2), effective July 1, 2017; P.A. 18-126 amended Subsec. (c) by adding references to registered apprentices, registered preapprentices, registered apprenticeship and registered preapprenticeship, replacing “apprenticeship courses” with “registered apprenticeship program or registered preapprenticeship program”, and adding definition of “apprentice”; P.A. 23-183 amended Subsec. (b)(1) by adding provision re minor who has reached age of 15 may be employed or permitted to work at youth camp or as lifeguard, making a technical change and adding provision re supervision of minor employed or working at youth camp or as lifeguard and amended Subsec. (b)(2)(B) by adding provision re each person employing minor at youth camp or as lifeguard obtain certificate stating age of such minor except if such minor is employed by municipality, effective June 28, 2023.

See Secs. 22-13 to 22-17, inclusive, re employment of minors in agriculture.

See Secs. 31-15a, 31-69a re penalties for violation of section.

See Sec. 46b-140(g) re employment of certain children for whom continued school attendance is deemed to be of no benefit.

Child employed in violation of section is not thereby precluded from compensation for injury otherwise compensable. 95 C. 164. Former statute cited. 111 C. 232. Violation of statute as actionable cause of death. 129 C. 439. Although employed in violation of statute, plaintiff within workmen's compensation act. 131 C. 157. Cited. 203 C. 34; 221 C. 465.

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